Anticipated swell hits the coast

After seeing Hawaii’s North Shore pummeled by huge surf earlier this week, with waves big enough to hold the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau in 30-foot-plus surf, Santa Barbara’s surfers eagerly awaited that swell to arrive at California’s shores.

With the swell filling in over night, hundreds were in the water at Rincon Thursday morning to enjoy the season’s largest swell so far, scrambling for waves that were occasionally a couple of feet overhead on the larger sets.

Surfline.com is predicting surf in the 4-to-6 foot range throughout the day with larger sets rolling through the better breaks. The west-northwest swell is expected to fade into tomorrow.

Rincon Thursday Morning

Rincon Thursday Morning

Using the shore break to get some nice pics in the tube

Using the shore break to get some nice pics in the tube

Cover Up

Cover Up

Taking Off

Taking Off

Rincon shore break with a wave spinning off in the background

Rincon shorebreak with a wave spinning off in the background